Can-opener



(No Model.)

A. B. SGHOFIELD. GAN QPENBB..

1 170.471,776. l Patented Mar. '29, 1892.

roY

l ALBERT B. SOHOFIELD, OF BROOKLYN, NEV YORK.

CAN-OPENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 471,776, dated March29, 1892.

Application tiled January 18, 1892. Serial No. 418,456. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT B. ScHorIELD, of Brooklyn, in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Can-Openers, of which the following is a specicat-ion.

Myinvention relates to an improvement in can-openers, in which a cutterfixed to an operating-handle is swung around a pivoting device alsoconnected to said handle.

The obj ect is topprovide an opener in which the pivoting device and theknife may be so secured and constructed that the rim around the openingleft byv the part of the can removed shall be turned outwardly, openingsof various sizes formed, and the device as a whole rendered simple anddurable.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view of the can-opener insidev elevation. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Fig. 3 is abottom plan view,the pivoting device being detached from the handle; and Fig. isatransverse section through the line of Fig.2.

A represents the handle, which in the present instance is formedintegral with the part which carries the knife and pivoting device. Thatportionof the shank of the handle where the knife is secured ispreferably spread out laterally, as shown at a, and provided with atransversely-elongated slot a', down through which the shank of theknifeextends. Along a side of the slot a there is formed an uprising lug a2,which in practice may be conveniently cast integral with the handle andits shank, and on the under side of the portion a and on opposite sidesof the slot a there are located runners B and B', the former on the sidetoward the handle and the latter on the side toward the pivoting device.The runner B is preferably formed on a curve, as clearly indicated inFig. 3, in order to prevent binding as the metal is turned up during thecutting operation. The bottoms of the runners B and B form bearingfaces,against which the metal is pressed by the action ofthe knife during thecutting operation.

The shank of the knife is represented by C, and at its upper portion ispreferably widened to provide for fastening devices c screws orrivets--by means of which it is firmly fastened to the face of theuprising lug a2. As the shank extends downwardly through the slot a itsshank is rapidly narrowed and .developed into a blade c', which extendsforwardly and gradually downward below the bottoms ofthe runners B andB', and the metalv to be cut is drawn between such edge and the bottomsof the runners as the blade is moved along by the handle, and is finallycut as it is forced between the runners by the blade. It will beobserved that the edge of the blade is set in a direction transverse tothe longitudinal axis'of the handle and that its cut is Vupwardly fromthe under side of the metal. The end of the shank of the handle wherethe pivoting device is secured is provided with a recess D on its vunderside and extending from the extreme end toward the handle, and from theinner end of said represent instance two e and e-and its shank E isadapted to seat within the recess D and extend upwardly through theopening d. It may be secured in position by upsetting the head oftheyshank. The pivoting device is provided at its end with a point e2for allowing it to be readily inserted through the thin metal of thecan.

For general use I find it desirable to locate the pivots e and e aboutone-quarter of an inch apart, so as to vary the diameter of the circleout by the knife-blade halt' an inch. This I find to be sufficient to.adapt the cutter to cans of the various sizes in common use; but thenumber of such pivots formed by the shaping of the pivoting device mightbe increased or their distance apart varied, as experience may dictate.

VThe forming of the recess D as a seat for, the shank of the pivotingdevice enables me to utilize ordinary round wire for said device IOOcentral of the portion .which it is desired to remove, and if alargeropening is desired the the point is pushed in until the tin surroundsthe pivot e. The handle is then pressed down to insert the point c2 ofthe cutting-blade through the can and is then swung around in a circleabout the pivot e as a center. 1f a smaller opening be desired, thepivoting device is inserted until the tin surrounds the pivot e.

Vhile I have shown two runners or bearings BY and B', and iind itpreferable to so construct the device, one of them might be omitted anda cut still be made.

What I claim isl. The combination, with a handle and a cutting-bladecarried thereby, of a pivoting device secured to the handle and providedwith a plurality of pivots located at'different distances from theblade, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the handle and means for pivoting it to swingin a circle, of a pair of runners on the under side of the handle and acutting-blade extending between the runners and spaced from them to

